System and method for monitoring alarms and responding to the movement of individuals and assets

ABSTRACT

A monitoring system is provided, by which alarm information and location data from a wireless personal tracking device carried by an individual is transmitted to an administrative hub for processing and action according to defined rules, including dispatching optimum assistance in the event of an alarm. Simultaneous monitoring of a plurality of individuals with diverse tracking units and effective event recording and reporting can be implemented.

PRIORITY

This Application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/935,833, filed Nov. 6, 2007, which is a Continuation of InternationalApplication No. PCT/US2006/017541, filed May 8, 2006, which, in turn,claims priority to the May 6, 2005 filing date of U.S. provisionalpatent application Ser. No. 60/678,823, and the Apr. 6, 2006 filing dateof PCT/US06/12754, which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The system and method of the present invention is utilized indetermining the position of an individual using GPS signals and cellphone location technologies for both real time and later comparison withparameters and providing bidirectional communication capability with thetracking device associated with the individual, and providing a responsenetwork to address critical alarm conditions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many devices and systems are known to monitor the position and movementsof individuals. Employers use devices to monitor employees againstdiversion from work-related locations, and such devices may be installedin work vehicles, attached to accessories such as computers, or compriseother GPS enabled devices. In addition, in the case of house arrest, theoffender must often carry a body-wom device to permit positionmonitoring. The monitoring of individuals may take either active orpassive forms. An active system will compare its location with ongoingrestrictions to detect violations. Such a violation may occur by eithercoming into broadcast range of a prohibited zone, leaving broadcastrange of a confinement zone, or by actual location determination andmapping against both permitted and exclusion zones. Alternatively,passive devices may simply record and transmit location information forlater or real time comparison with permitted and excluded zones at aremote system.

Many devices have been proposed and employed for such uses. Among themost common are multi-component systems. Such systems typically includea wearable radio frequency (RF) bracelet that communicates with sometype of base device. This may be a fixed base system with access to atelephone line that places a telephone call to a monitoring serviceanytime the RF signal is not detected. Alternatively, it may be aportable base equipped with GPS location technology that detects thepresence of the bracelet RF signal and also tracks movements andperiodically communicates, typically through wireless phone technology,to report those locations. These devices may also have the capability ofdisplaying text messages from the monitoring officer or agency on an LCDscreen. Some base attachments have attempted to utilize voicerecognition technology to provide verification of the identity of aperson present and responding to a phone call placed through the baseunit.

Generally absent from these systems is the ability for real time or nearreal time communication directly between a remote system and the locatordevice associated with the individual. In addition, the component costsof custom devices is unnecessarily high compared to the prices availablefor mass market cellular telephone and GPS technology. Many systemsrequire dedicated phone lines, require the monitored individual to wearor carry obtrusive hardware, require additional hardware for monitoringpersonnel, lack adequate battery life for multi-day usage, are subjectto drift due to GPS signal errors, and lack a method for confirmingreceipt of messages sent between monitoring personnel and a monitoredindividual.

Accordingly, there is a need for an individual tracking system that canbe deployed with software capable of running on a wide variety ofdevices and is therefore largely device agnostic.

There is also a need for an individual tracking system that does notrequire the use of dedicated phone lines or obtrusive hardware. There isalso a need to provide real time or active tracking and activenotification to monitoring personnel.

There is a further need for a system with easily configurable rules andwith easily updated and connected location data.

There is an additional need to provide a method for shorter responsetimes to alarm conditions than can be economically provided by municipalpolice and private security services.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a largelydevice agnostic system for monitoring of individuals.

It is further an object of the invention to implement individualtracking capability without the necessity of obtrusive hardware ordedicated phone lines.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide an individualtracking system that does not require specialized hardware formonitoring personnel.

It is a further object of the invention to provide active or real timelocation information concerning monitored individuals and to provideactive notification to monitoring personnel.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method for confirmedcommunications between monitoring personnel and a monitored individual.

It is yet a further object of the invention to provide an easilyadjustable and tamper resistant wearable tracking device.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide a system thatallows the implementation of many rules, and which is easily updatedwith location data, and can self correct location data.

It is a further additional object of the invention to provide aresponsive network to provide assistance to monitored individualssignaling an alarm condition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the communication paths ofcomponents utilized in the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the functional architecture of anadministrative hub server.

FIG. 3 is a functional architecture diagram of an administrative hubportal server.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram reflecting the processing ofcommunications by a portable device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a functional architecture diagram of a wearable trackingdevice according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a high level electrical block diagram of a wearable trackingdevice according to the present invention.

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a tamper resistant strap for use with awearable tracking device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7B is a perspective view of a wearable device according to theinvention with strap affixed.

FIG. 7C is a perspective view of a locking pin utilized to hold thestrap of FIG. 7B in place.

FIG. 7D is a rear perspective view of a monitoring device according tothe present invention.

FIG. 7E is a perspective view showing the method of attaching amonitoring device of the present invention to the wearer's leg with thedevice, attached strap and lock bracket.

FIG. 7F is a perspective view of a lock bracket base according to thepresent invention in isolation.

FIG. 8 is a schematic and flow chart reflecting a confirmedcommunication protocol that may be implemented according to theinvention.

FIG. 9A is a screen display of a graphical location history map that maybe generated with location data provided by the invention.

FIG. 9B is a pop up text window reflecting the graphical data of FIG.9A.

FIG. 10A is a screen display of graphical map of an inclusion zonedefined according to the present invention.

FIG. 10B is a schematic representation of inclusion and exclusion zones.

FIG. 11 is a screen display of a status report for individuals beingmonitored according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows a screen display of a data entry template for a newindividual to be monitored according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a screen display of a representative violation report thatmay be generated when utilizing the invention of the present system tomonitor offenders subject to restrictions.

FIG. 14 is a screen display of a representative device report fordevices being monitored according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows a screen display of a management function template forediting schedules.

FIG. 16 depicts a screen display of a management schedule for automaticnotification procedures.

FIG. 17 shows a screen display of an administrative data entry form forestablishing a new user on the system.

FIG. 18 is a schematic illustration of the implementation of a responsenetwork.

FIG. 19 is a schematic illustration of communication paths of users of asystem implementing the invention.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart of a method of adding and removing sensors toreport alarm conditions at a physical location.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart of a process of arming and disarming sensors ata physical location.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart of a process of implementing a response to amonitored individual's alarm condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning then to FIG. 1, a schematic overview of the communication pathutilized in the present invention is illustrated. Control of theinvention is preferably maintained at one or more administrative hubs 10running application server 11 functionality and portal server 12functionality. The portal server 12 will communicate through gateways13, generally routers or a location aggregator, with the Internet 14 orsome combination of public networks 15, possibly including the Internet,and telephone networks. Communications are then directed to and/or froma wide variety of devices with respect to the administrative hub 10. Forinstance, an RFID reader 20 may detect and report the presence of anRFID tag. The administrative hub 10 may generate a message to acontrollable device user at facility 19 and receive a confirmingacknowledgement. A user of the invention may obtain information viapersonal computer 21, laptop computer 22, cell phone 23, Blackberry 24,Palm Pilot 25 or other digital communication device. The tracking devicemay be in a wearable ankle bracelet box 26, installed in a vehicle 27,or operated on GPS enabled mobile communications devices such as PalmPilots 25, Blackberrys 24, cell phones 23, or even on appropriatelyconfigured laptop computers 22. If the tracking software is installed onthese or similar devices, then location information generated from GPSsatellite 17 and confirmed by assisted GPS location data for cell towertriangulation, together with any other types of data collected by themobile communication device, is periodically transmitted to theadministrative hub 10. A user of the system with access via a webenabled device is able to graphically display a variety of trackingdevice information utilizing web client 16. In addition, the user maygenerate messages to the administrative hub 10 or to any of thedescribed communication enabled devices. Because the system isimplemented in a device agnostic fashion, it is contemplated that thesystem will operate with a plurality of types of devices employed byboth users who access data and by monitored persons.

Turning then to an examination of the system components in greaterdetail, the logical architecture of a representative administrative hubapplication server 11 is shown in FIG. 2. This server has a standardadministration 41 and security 42 functionality. The three principalcategories of the services provided by the application server 11 aredata services 43, core services 46, and communications services 55. Dataservices 43 include data housed in OLTP (Online Transaction Processing)or OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) relational or multidimensionaldatabases 45 and data access objects (DAO) 44 to allow data accessmechanisms to change independently of the code that uses the data. Coreservices 46 principally comprise message processor 47 for parsing andeither acting upon or forwarding incoming messages for action andbuilding and formatting outgoing messages in appropriate packet format;reporting services 48 for building reports from event logs stored indata services 43 and organizing the data for transmission to portalserver 12; remote parameters management 49 for storing and managingparameters such as time intervals for a mobile unit to take locationfixes and for initiating communications with administrative hub 10, andintervals for battery charge testing and reporting and battery chargerequirements; notification/alerts 50 for configuring conditions thatwill generate alerts and reports, including persons to be notified fortypes of events, immediate or delayed timing for those notifications,and the communication methods to be employed in notifications; systemconfiguration services 51 to hold parameters defining the system anduser preferences which may include language choice, time zone, and thelike; location services 54 to convert data from mobile units toposition, and geocoding to or from a particular address, as well asperforming assisted GPS location calculations and any necessary driftcorrection; scheduling services 53 for managing times including regularschedules for exclusion and inclusion zones, as well as specialpermissions or allowed variations from usual schedule, and requiredappointments at particular addresses; and monitoring services 52 forcomparing reported locations against rules for the monitoredindividual's locations and generating appropriate information to thenotification/alerts module 50 in the event of violations. Thecommunication services component 55 includes inbound and outboundmessage queues 57, 58; communication adapters 56 to allow messaging witha variety of devices; data bridge 59 to permit data from core servicesto be formatted into outbound messages, and inbound messages to beformatted for access by core services 46; and personalization 68 topermit users to specify custom reports and preferred screen displays.Finally, an interface 61 such as XML protocol for accessing web servicesis provided.

FIG. 3 shows a similar logical architecture of an administrative hubportal server 12 which once more has standard administrative 70,security 71 and interface 99 modules. The principal functionality ofportal server 12 may be divided into data services 72, system services76, application services 85 and a browser 98. Data services 72principally comprise a repository for data needed to reply to inquiriesfrom users accessing the system using their web client 16 (shown in FIG.1).

Principal components of data services 72 include system metadatarepository 73 holding information with respect to the system componentsso that they may be accessed when needed to carry out actions; workflowrepository 74 queuing the actions to be carried out; and OLTP/OLAPstorage 75. System services provide a number of modules corresponding tocore services on the application server including reporting services 80,notification alerts 84, and location services 82. In addition, systemservices provide mapping services 83 for rendering locations ongraphical maps, workflow executive 72 for parsing actions in theworkflow repository 74 and commencing execution of those actions, dataintegration 78 for merging structured and unstructured data into auseful form such as XML for use by the system, and digital businessidentity 79 for holding user management information utilized by thesystem's access control logic. The application services 85 includedisplay related personalization 92; search functionality 87; reporting86; points of interest 89 for assigning descriptive names to physicallocations in lieu of addresses; subscriptions 90 for allowing users tospecify types of information to receive, such as whenever a newsubscriber or offender is added for monitoring, whenever a mobile unitis disabled, or other types of events separate from the violation typenotification/alerts; directions 88 for facilitating navigation tolocations; and calendaring/scheduling 91 to communicate scheduleinformation with scheduling services 53 on application server 11.Presentation services 93, principally comprising templates 94, themes95, and rendering 97, provide for enhanced screen displays presented inbrowser 98. Events 96 translates user keystrokes and mouse clicks intoworkflow actions.

FIG. 4 shows an overview of messaging between application hub 10 anduser device 100. A message may be generated by application server 12 andthen communicated via Internet and typically public cellular network 15to device 100 where it is inserted in the inbound message queue 104.Messages are then read into the messaging hub 102 which corresponds tocommunication services 114 shown in FIG. 5 and deleted from the inboundqueue 104. Received messages are then processed for message type andappropriate message data is transmitted to embedded application 101 inthe device 100. Similarly, the embedded application 101 may generateacknowledgement for messages which are transmitted to messaging hub 102,formatted and inserted in outbound message queue 103.

The logical architecture of a representative device utilized in theinvention is reflected in FIG. 5. A preferred device uses a real timeoperating system (RTOS) or a virtual machine software implementation ofa desired CPU and native device drivers 11 to permit operation of thesystem with a wide variety of devices 100. In even the more basictracking devices typified by vehicle tracking 27 or offender tracking 26devices, there are device drivers 115 to interface with much of thehardware shown in FIG. 6, systems services 113 to monitor device status112 or to generate alerts, and communication services 114 to transmitstored data and alerts as described in connection with FIG. 8. Wirelessbusiness framework 116 implements the confirmed delivery of messages, asalso explained in connection with FIG. 8, while presentation framework117 contains dispatch module 118, which effectively is a calendaring orscheduling functionality, and messaging 119 which is only available onmore advanced devices such as handhelds, phones with LED displays, orcomputers. Monitoring rules and constraints 120 are implemented togenerate active monitoring notifications while location tracking 121generates GPS and assisted GPS location data.

FIG. 6 is a high level block diagram of a device 100 used in theinvention. Typically, the device is based upon a GPS enabled cell phone,principal components of which are flash memory 129, CPU 130, data bus131, cellular modem 132, antenna 133, GPS receiver 134, display driver136, speaker 140, and microphone 141. The operating system or virtualmachine software, as appropriate to the device, may be installed inflash memory 129 and operates in connection with CPU 130 to present astandard device profile to the system. Communications are transmittedfrom the CPU through the data bus 131 to cellular modem 132 andbroadcast in the form of digital packets via antenna 133. Similarly,incoming messages travel in the reverse sequence.

The GPS receiver 134 is utilized to generate location information.Because GPS location requires line of sight access to GPS satellites 17,and because GPS location is sometimes subject to erroneous results dueto drift or temporary satellite misorientation, GPS assist 135 may beadded to the device or the cellular network. Assisted GPS generateslocation information based upon signals received from nearby cellularcommunication towers 18 and without correction is often only accurate towithin several hundred feet rather than the GPS location accuracy ofonly several feet. Nonetheless, assisted GPS provides valuable locationconfirming information as well as at least general location informationwhen line of sight access to GPS satellites is unavailable.

Alternatively, location information may be provided by a locationaggregator. The location aggregation service may be provided by acellular network provider or an entity operating a gateway in connectionwith the cellular network or other broadcast communication provider.Many cellular networks are now capable of determining the location ofGPS enabled cellular handsets with some degree of accuracy, particularlyhandsets that facilitate assisted GPS such as those using Qualcomm 6050or 6250 microprocessors which permits the network to use AFLT. While the6250 microprocessor can operate autonomously to determine theco-ordinates of the handset, both of the Qualcomm processors can alsooperate in response to a cellular network query, or by generating atheir own location query, to cause the network to acquire the OPS datareceived by the cellular handset, and to utilize Advanced Forward LinkTriangulation (AFLT) or other cellular network information, to producean assisted GPS geolocation for the handset.

In a further refinement, the GPS and cellular network data may beprocessed by the location aggregation service for accuracy. Forinstance, location information data may be processed utilizing noiseprocessing theorems to correct for bad data such as drift caused by aGPS satellite wobble, or the effects of changes in signal reflection andabsorption caused by varying conditions such as locations in urbancanyons, the woods, or beneath heavy cloud cover, and atmosphericionization changes from day and night. Information as to the geolocationof the handset is then communicated by the location aggregator to theadministrative hub, and in appropriate instances may also becommunicated to the handset.

While the display driver 136, microphone 141 and speaker 140 may bedisabled or removed from vehicle location 27 or offender bracelet 26constructions, other hardware may be added. For instance, in the case ofan offender bracelet 26, tamper detector 139 and LED driver 137 and LEDemitter receiver 138 are added to provide redundant tamper indicators asexplained below in connection with FIG. 7.

A preferred offender tracking device 26 is illustrated in FIGS. 7A-7F.The principal components of tracking device 26 are lock bracket 144 asshown in isolation in FIG. 7F, a strap 150 shown in isolation in FIG.7A, and main housing 170 shown in bottom view in FIG. 7D and top phantomview in FIG. 7B. Turning first to the strap 150 of FIG. 7A, arepresentative strap 150 might be manufactured from plastic molded overoptical cable 151 and light guide 153. The strap will preferably have alight guide/connector 152, apertures 154 to accept fasteners, andapertures 155 to receive locking posts. An alternative strap designincludes a flexible battery within the strap. Optical cable 151 maystill be included in the strap 150, and significant power resources forthe device can be located within the strap. This results in the mainhousing 170 no longer having to contain the entire power supply, and byutilizing a smaller battery within the housing, the size of the housingmay be reduced, resulting in a device that is more easily worn.

An exemplary battery technology that may be employed in such a strap isa thin flexible battery using NECs organic radial battery technology.Turning then to FIG. 7D, it can be seen that fasteners 156 have beenreceived through apertures 154 of strap 150 and thereby fasten the strap150 to bottom of main housing 170. As shown in FIG. 7B, main housing 170contains recharge connector 180, tamper sensor switch 181, battery 182,antenna 183, and generally the components 184 reflected in FIG. 6. Whenused without a power strap, the battery 182 is preferably a long lifebattery which has a life of up to approximately 21 to 30 days when usedfor offender monitoring in monitoring units having current efficientcircuitry and antenna design, and effective power management algorithmsto minimize the number and duration of transmissions from the unit andthe intensiveness of calculations carried out in the mobile unit. Thispermits monthly visits to a probation officer with the necessity ofrecharging the battery by the offender only once, if at all.

When used with a power strap, the battery in the strap 150 preferablyhas these long lived characteristics, and the battery 182 within thehousing 170 may be simply a short term back-up power supply, to operatethe device temporarily if the power strap is damaged or disconnected.The storage in device 100 is sufficient to store messages and GPSlocation recordings for up to about two weeks depending upon thefrequency with which GPS location readings are recorded.

The bottom of main housing 170 in FIG. 7D shows a variety of featuresincluding opening 171 for tamper sensor 181, opening 172 for rechargeconnector 180, rearward facing hooks 173, lens opening 174 to transmitlight from a diode to the light guide connector 172 of strap 150 andforward lip 175 defining cavity 176. The side walls for cavity 176 haveapertures 177 to receive locking pin 160 shown in FIG. 7C.

To attach the device 26 as shown in FIG. 7E, the lock bracket 144 isplaced on the offender 190. Accordingly, the bottom surface of the lockbracket 144 is preferably made with comfortable to wear surface. The topsurface of lock bracket 144 has an outer flange 146 to receive housing170 and a plurality of upstanding pins. At one end are two relativelyshort pins 145 that interface in the strap openings 154 that receivefasteners 156. At the opposite side of the face of lock bracket 144 aretwo taller pins 148 that are received in apertures 155 of strap 150after it encircles the offender's arm or leg 190. These taller pins 148have lateral apertures 165 to receive the locking pin 160. Also shown ispin 149 that is received in aperture 171 to activate the tamper sensorswitch 181.

Thus, to fit the device 26 to the offender, lock bracket 144 is placedon the offender's leg 190. The light guide connector 152 end of thestrap 150 is secured to the housing 170 as by screws 156. The strap 150is placed so that the unattached end is received over posts 145, 148.The strap is then wrapped around the offender's leg 190, and the mainhousing hooks 173 are received in flange recesses 147 on lock bracket144, while posts 148 extend upward into cavity 176. Then locking pin 160is passed through openings 177 and pin holes 165 so that the pin head163 extends from one side of front lip 175 and base 161 extends from theother side with lateral section 162 extending therebetween. In the eventthat the offender should attempt to remove the pin 160, it will break atbreakpoint 164 and the tamper detector will be activated. Similarly, ifthe optical cable 151 of strap 150 is cut, the tamper detector will beactivated. Finally, if the main housing 170 is removed from lock bracket144, the tamper sensor switch 181 will be activated. In any of theseinstances, the device 26 will generate a message to the administrativehub 10 advising of the tampering event.

An effective tamper detector to ascertain whether there has been abreach of the housing 170 may combine a light sensor that is activatedwhen light enters the housing and an electromagnetic field sensor thatis activated if metal components of the housing are dislocated. Asophisticated tamper detector used with the optical cable may utilize anLED driver 137 and one or more LEDs to emit at least two differentfrequencies of light in alternating or random sequence through the lensopening 174 into the light guide connector 152 and outbound on a firstlength of optical cable 151 to light guide 152 and back inbound on thesecond length of optical cable 151. Simultaneously, the LED receiver isinformed of the frequency being emitted, and if either no light or thewrong frequency light is detected inbound, then a tamper alert isgenerated.

It will be appreciated that in securing the device 26 to an offender, itis not necessary to cut strap 150. Instead, the strap will fit asubstantial range of offender leg sizes and requires no special tools tosecure the unit on the offender's leg. Prior art devices have generallyrequired the strap be cut to length and in the event that optical cableis utilized for tamper indication, the difficulties of accuratelysplicing the cable not only requires special tools, but also is likelyto be sufficiently defective that false tamper alerts may be generated.Furthermore, when the device is removed from an offender, only the pin160 is destroyed, so that the strap 150 may be reused.

Turning then to FIG. 8, the messaging protocol providing for confirmedmessaging is illustrated. First, a device 100 generates message 201.This message may be generated as a result of an alarm condition such astampering, low battery, or entry into an exclusion zone, oralternatively may be simply a regularly scheduled transmission oflocation data as the device will be configured to take location readingsperiodically, typically in intervals of about one to five minutes, andto transmit those readings in batches, typically about every thirtyminutes, preferably in a proprietary data packet. Such a data packetpreferably has a header identifying message type, a security token, andmessage data. After the device 100 generates message 201, the message istransmitted 202 and received 203 by administrative hub 10. The datapacket is parsed 204 to confirm a message type, the sending device, thatsecurity protocols are satisfied, and to determine that the data is notcorrupt. Administrative hub 10 then sends an acknowledgement 205 todevice 100 which receives the acknowledgement 206 and deletes themessage from its outbound message queue 207. If the administrative hubdetermined the message was corrupt, it would request that the message beresent. If the device 100 did not receive an acknowledgement within apredetermined time period, it would resend the message.

It is also possible for messages to be generated at the administrativehub 10. These messages might actually be entered by systems personnel atthe administrative hub 10 or by monitoring personnel interfacing withthe administrative hub via user web client 16 or other suitably enableddevice. Accordingly, a typical message generated might be from aprobation officer advising an offender with a display equippedmonitoring device that he has a court date at a particular time andplace; or a message from a dispatcher to a pickup/delivery vehicleadvising of an additional address to include on a route; or anadministrative change to redefine an exclusion zone or alter a parameterof operation such intervals for taking and reporting location readings.Once the message is generated 210, the messaging hub transmits 211 themessage which is received 212 by device 100. The device 100 parses 213the message for message type and confirms appropriate security token ispresent and that the message is not corrupt. Then the device 100generates an acknowledgement 214 which is sent to messaging hub andreceived 215. The administrative hub 10 then records confirmation thatthe message was received by device 100. The device 100 proceeds toprocess the message data 217.

When the administrative hub 10 is messaging device 100 with user displaymeans such as a LED screen, messages may be sent which request aresponse. For instance, probation officer might ask an offender if heneeds a ride to a court hearing. A dispatcher might ask adelivery/pickup person if he can make an extra pickup or delivery, andin either case request a reply. In the event that the message isreceived by the device 100 but there has been no reply, it is possiblefor the administrative hub to issue a message recall 220. When thatrecall is received 221 by device 100, it parses recall message 222,generates an appropriate acknowledgement 223, and proceeds to delete themessage. The administrative hub receives the acknowledgement 224 andrecords the deletion of the message 225.

Alternatively, if the device user responds to the message 230, theresponse is sent to the administrative hub 10 and received 231. Then theresponse is parsed 232 and acknowledged 233, and the administrative hubproceeds to process the data in the response, perhaps informing adispatcher that the requested pickup or delivery has been accepted bythe pickup/delivery driver. The device 100 receives the acknowledgement234 and proceeds to delete the response from its messaging queue 235.Thus, the invention provides for a robust two-way messaging system withconfirmed messaging delivery and message recall capability. Theadministrative hub 10 has the capability of sending inquiries to thedevice 100 in order to return information regarding device status andlocation information. The message confirmation protocols assure that areliable audit trail can be maintained by the system.

The administrative hub 10 has the capability of sending alerts to avariety of devices. For instance, the hub 10 can provide graphic dataand text messages to user devices with screen displays; it can sendemail messages to email accounts; it can send text messages; it can sendfax reports or alerts; and it can generate voice alerts to be receivedby telephone or RF enabled devices. Thus, a probation officer canreceive a voice alert generated by the system over a regular telephonewhen a high priority alarm warrants such communication.

FIGS. 9 and 10 display a user web client 16 such as would be availableto a probation officer or dispatcher utilizing the invention. FIG. 9Adiscloses a location history map 300 with indicators 301 showing thelocations of a tracked individual over time. To utilize this reportingfunctionality, a location history is selected in the location menu 311.The target entity is selected 302 and displayed 303. Starting time 304and ending time 305 are entered and display 306 generates theappropriate mapping. The location history can also be generated in atext popup screen 315 with text entries 316 corresponding to numberedindicators 301 on the map screen 300. The location history may also beoverlaid with the location history of one or more other monitoredindividuals for analysis, such as the enforcement ofseparation/non-association orders or to disclose behavioral patternsamong offender groups. The locations and text route histories may beexported 317 into a digital file or document for use apart from thedevice management and interaction software. As shown in FIG. 9A,additional types of reporting and functionality are also available.Report menu 307 provides for the creation of device reports that couldinclude items such as battery power, battery charging events, devicetampering attempts, and the like as reflected in greater detail in FIG.14. An event log may be created listing a variety of different types ofevents that may have transpired; a message report lists messages betweena user and the device; an online/offline report lists the times that thedevice was not within a reporting area; and a proximity report providesdata concerning the device's proximity to a particular location oranother enabled device. A speeding report extrapolates the device speedbetween location reports and lists instances when the distance betweenway points indicates a speed in excess of a user designated limit. Astops report indicates locations where the device has remainedstationary for a user-determined interval. A violation report as shownin FIG. 13 lists instances in which the device wearer has enteredexclusion zones or deviated from established routing. Additional menus308, 309, 310 are provided for management and administration functionsdiscussed below.

FIG. 10A shows an inclusion/exclusion zone map 320 with definedinclusion zone 321. In the manage entity menu 308, new zones may beadded and applied to target entities or existing zones may be edited.For a stationary zone such as inclusion zone 321, an address is entered323 and named 322. Target entity is selected 324 and displayed 325. Thezone has a starting time 326 and ending time 327 as is appropriate foroffenders with a probationary term. The zone may be made active on allor selected dates 328, and the radius of the zone defined 330. Inaddition, the zone may be defined as inclusion or exclusion type 329.

Two particular advantages of the present invention are the ability todefine buffer zones and mobile exclusion or inclusion zones. Relative tomobile zones for instance, inmates on a work crew may be assigned to aninclusion zone within a defined radius of a supervising correctionsdepartment official. The official will carry a device that is tracked bya administrative hub 10 as the official moves about. Any inmate whosedevice leaves the inclusion zone about the official's device generallycauses alerts to be sent with tracking data so that the inmate may beapprehended. Similarly, an offender subject to a restraining order notto come within a certain radius of a victim may be equipped with alocation device 100 and the victim also equipped with a location device,preferably by simply installing the necessary software on a GPS enabledcellular phone. The system then tracks the mobile locations of both theoffender and the victim and sends appropriate alerts to one or more ofthe victim, the offender, and monitoring officer. In addition, thepresent invention provides for the creation of reportable events thatare not explicit violations of rules applicable to an offender, forinstance by allowing the creation of buffer zones that are not strictinclusion or exclusion zones. As an example, an offender might besubject to a 500 foot exclusion order, that creates a 500 foot exclusionzone around the victim and the victim's home and place of work. Thesystem permits the definition of a larger buffer zone, perhaps 1000 feetor a quarter mile in radius, and if the offender lingers in the expandedbuffer zone beyond a user designated time period, perhaps thirty minutesor an hour, notification is sent to a monitoring officer or included inreports.

In an alternative mode of operation, when the system determines that anoffender or subscriber is in close proximity to an exclusion zone orsimilar critical location, the system can order the device to operateautonomously to determine its location. In this mode of operation, thedevice becomes location aware by processing GPS coordinates and anyassisted GPS information that it can obtain to determine its owngeolocation, and it may also apply its own rule analysis to thedetermined location. This autonomous operating mode may also beimplemented if the device loses contact with the system for apredetermined interval of time. As an alternative to switching a deviceto autonomous operation for performing onboard geolocation and ruleanalysis, the administrative hub might alternatively simply order thedevice to collect and transmit GPS and assisted GPS data with increasedfrequency.

Two optional features of the invention's geo coding databases alsoincrease its effectiveness. The first of these is the ability of the geocoding database to allow the addition and publishing of custominformation. So, for instance, as shown in FIG. 10A, an address is addedfor an inclusion zone 321 which might be an offender's home addresswhere he is required to remain throughout an evening curfew period. Thisinformation would typically be considered custom information to anoffender monitoring service. However, if custom information is added bya subscriber to the system that would be of more widespread interest,such as the location of a probation office or a substance abusetreatment facility, or a roadway speed limit, the subscriber has theability to publish that information so that those details will beavailable on the public geo coding databases available to allsubscribers to the system. Of course, prior to allowing the publishingof information to the public database, there is a review for formatcompliance and accuracy. In addition web crawlers are utilized toharvest information for additions to the public or master geo codingdatabase. Web crawlers are directed to search for specified criteria andreturn a listing of proposed changes to existing geo coding data meetingthe designated criteria, and potential additions to the geo coding datameeting the program criteria which are then reviewed and added by anefficient work process such as single click approval.

The second geo coding database feature that improves operability of thesystem is an auto correction aspect. Publicly available geo codingdatabases include numerous, usually minor, defects due to errors in datacoding as well as the development of new subdivisions and new buildingconstruction. If the center point for an inclusion or exclusion zone orother critical location point is set incorrectly, it can lead to anumber of false alerts. In prior art systems, when a monitored offendergenerates an alert, the protocol has been for a call to be initiated toask the offender to confirm his location and in the event of repeatederroneous alerts, to send a GPS reader out to the physical location torecalibrate the geo coding for that location. However, according to theinvention, the administrative hub monitors new inclusion zones and otherappropriate critical points for the first few days after their entryinto the system. If it is determined that an offender's apparent in hometime is not centered within an inclusion zone, the inclusion zone can beautomatically recentered or recalibrated to the real location. This autoconfiguration is particularly useful for offender monitoring when thereis an incorrect geo coding or a coding of a mailbox location instead ofa house location for a particular address. Similarly, new constructionsites may have only estimated geolocations and may require correctiononce construction has proceeded sufficiently. In another situationbenefiting from auto correction, deliveries of shipments of goods thatare being tracked may take place at a loading dock 100 yards or morefrom the coded geolocation of a facility. The ability to accuratelytrack the transportation and delivery of goods to provide exceptionbased reporting of route deviations combined with the ability toproactively optimize supply channel efficiencies, such as loading dockutilization and minimized waiting times for delivery, will further thegoal of logistics managers to achieve complete, audited, unattendeddelivery.

FIG. 10B illustrates inclusion and exclusion zones in operation.Specifically, an offender 350 is equipped with tracking device 100. Anofficer 351 is also equipped with a communication device 353 which mightbe sending communications to an enabled device ranging in sophisticationfrom a cell phone 23 to a laptop computer 22, or the officer 351 mayeven be within a corrections facility 356 equipped with a work station21 running web client 16. Generally, the corrections facility 356 wouldbe within an inclusion zone 355 to permit the offender 350 to report formonthly probation officer meetings. In addition, the offender 350 wouldfrequently be provided an inclusion zone 360 on workdays during workhours for his place of work. In some instances, the offender 350 wouldbe allowed an inclusion area 365 for some leisure activities duringselected hours, inclusion zone 370 for his place of residence andshopping needs, and if attending classes an inclusion zone 375 to attendschool. An exclusion zone 380 would be established around the victim'shome and possibly the victim's place of work. In addition, according tothe present invention, victim 352 may carry a GPS enabled cell phone orother device running software according to the present invention andhave a mobile exclusion zone 381 that moves with the victim's location.Thus, if the victim 352 were in one of the offender's 350 inclusionzones, then the system may generate notices to any of: the victim 352 toadvise of the proximity of offender 350; the offender 350 to advise thatthe usual inclusion zone is not currently permitted; or the officer 351to alert the officer to the developing situation so that correctiveaction may be taken.

FIG. 11 shows a useful management report 400 for a probation officer orother corrections official with monitoring responsibility. The reportlists offender status by user defined criteria, and in the illustratedcase those criteria are of zone violations, battery status and rechargescheduling, failure to call in when required, and strap tamperingevents.

FIG. 12 shows the new offender data entry template 405 which isgenerated by the new offender item or manage offender menu 308. Asshown, the new offender template has tabbed 406, 407 pages to permit theentry of personal information, charges, additional offender details andnotifications. Adding new offenders is typically a user administrativefunction that may be accomplished over user web client 16 shown inFIG. 1. From this description, it will be appreciated that severaldatabases are employed in the operation of the system. For instance,there is a database of devices that are being monitored by the systemfor their locations; there is a database of offenders, subscribers orassets that are associated with devices and rules associated with thoseoffenders, subscribers or assets; there is a database of clients of thesystem and the users and user rights for each client; and there is a GPSmap or location database that may be supplemented with additionalinformation by clients and by selective purchases of data such asregistered sex offender residence data.

FIG. 13 shows a violation report which is produced from report menu 307.After violation report activity is selected, the user selects theentities or offenders upon which the report is to be generated 411 andthose entities are displayed 412. The user also selects the interval 413over which the violations are to be displayed. When the report is run417, text report 415 is generated. The report may be exported 416 to adigital file or document for use outside the monitoring and trackingsystem.

The report menu 307 also permits generation of device report 420 shownin FIG. 14. From this report, the user can select active or nonactivedevices 421 or both, and a report is generated showing device ID andtype, such as an offender ankle bracelet, cellular phone, or the like,and other pertinent device information. A text report 422 can begenerated, and the data in the report may be exported 423 to a digitalfile or document for use outside the tracking system.

The manage entity or offender menu 308 permits entity schedules to beedited. FIG. 15 shows the edit schedule template 425 whereby utilizingtabs 426, 427, 428 offenders and their schedules may be selected andentries for particular days may be edited with event types 429, whichmay be appointments or particular time periods for application ofinclusion or exclusion zones. In the administration menu 310, authorizedadministrative personnel may perform necessary updates such as managingvarious agency accounts, authorizing new agency or company users,editing existing user information, adding new agency or company accountsand editing account information, and adding new devices or editingdevice information

FIG. 16 displays an edit company report showing company notificationdefaults 430. This allows the agency, such as a probation departmentsubscribing to the service to designated parameters to theadministrative hub 10 specifying communications methods 432 to beemployed upon the occurrence of selected events 436 with respect to theagency 431, to a responsible officer for a particular offender 435 andto a victim or other interested third party. Illustrated communicationmethods include by fax, pager, e-mail, and SMS text messaging, andmessages may be sent immediately 433 and/or provided in summary 434.

FIG. 17 shows another administrative menu 310 section, that of the newuser template 440. The template collects system identificationinformation such as user name and login password 441; the user's role442 within the company or agency which will define to some extent theuser's rights to access various aspects of the system, with a companyadministrator or supervisor having a greater rights than a monitoringofficer or dispatcher. User contact information 443 is also collected,and user preferences 444 a, 444 b may also be input.

The system provides for the monitoring of a wide variety of criteria. Awearable device 100 may be equipped with a transdermal sensor foroffender alcohol monitoring and with a thermometer for body temperaturereadings. In addition, stationary reporting devices such as active RFIDreaders 20, intTusion or smoke alarms may be placed in facilities 19 andgenerate signals to administrative hub 10. Upon obtaining a message fromsuch a fixed reporting device, the administrative hub can automaticallydirect certain actions and make appropriate notifications. For instance,a smoke alarm message could lead the administrative hub 10 to seekconfirmation from user facility staff, and in the absence of rapidconfirmation that there is no problem, the appropriate fire departmentmay be notified. An intrusion alarm may generate a call to a responsenetwork as described below. Similarly, a RFID reader 20 may signalwarning that an offender is entering a restricted area and causeappropriate action to be taken. Patients in assisted living facilitiesmay also be equipped with RFID tags that are read and generate messagesto the administrative hub 10 that may cause nearby doors to be locked toprevent patients from leaving the building or entering restricted areassuch as kitchen and maintenance facilities, while avoiding the need tomaintain the facility in a heavily supervised or lockdown mode.

With reference to FIGS. 18-22, the operation of a response networkuseful primarily outside the offender monitoring marketplace may beexplained. For instance, FIG. 18 reflects the operation of the systemwith administrative hub 510 in connection with an individual subscriberrunning appropriate software to communicate with the system on cellphone 523 and subscribing to a security service with administrative node501, where the security service is communication with police dispatchnode 503 over a virtual private network. When the subscriber with cellphone 523 encounters an alarm condition, as by holding down the numeral9 on the cell phone 523 (see step 530 in FIG. 22), the cell phonetransmits a panic signal 531 to the administrative hub 510. Theadministrative hub 510 automatically responds by causing the cell phone523 to increase the frequency of its location transmission 532.Accordingly, rather than generating a signal to collect GPS data andassisted GPS data from GPS satellites 517 and cellular radio towers 518about every two to five minutes, ephemeral location data may becollected every 30 seconds and transmitted to administrative hub 510.The administrative hub 510 or a location aggregator 513 will calculatethe geolocation of the subscriber 533. If the location is successfullydetermined 534, and if that location is also the location wherein thesubscriber previously had a confirmed location 535, then the securityservice node 501 will respond by dispatching aid to that physicallocation 536. The dispatch may be a private guard service employed by asecurity service, or in cooperation with police authorities the securityservice may communicate from node 501 to police dispatch node 503 and apolice unit may be dispatched to the location. Indeed, the dispatchalternatives are not limited to private security guards and officialpolice dispatch, but the security service may contract with an entireresponse network which may include off-duty police personnel, policeauthorities not merely from a particular municipality, but also bothfederal and state police authorities, and police authorities from nearbycounties and municipalities. In addition, paramedic and medicalpersonnel and even qualified volunteers may form part of a responsenetwork. When these resources, as on-duty police authorities, off-dutypolice authorities, private security, and medical personnel, areavailable for use by response network, they will activate their trackingdevices and will be subject to being monitored and plotted on locationmaps in near real time. When an event occurs, the security servicecollecting the alarm event is then able to determine the nearestresponder with the appropriate training for the type of alarm condition,and then attempt to contact that responder and inform the responder ofthe location of the event. If the responder accepts the engagement, apredetermined fee will be paid (unless an on-duty police authority) andthe fastest possible response should be achieved. Thus, it will beappreciated that if the subscriber alarm in FIG. 22 was determined to bea medical alarm, paramedic or medical personnel would be dispatchedrather than police authorities.

Returning to FIG. 22, however, if the location is determined for thealarm is not at the subscriber's previous confirmed location but it isnear or inside a community protected by a security service 550, thenpolice authorities may be contacted and an agent responsible forcommunity protection may be contacted 551. In addition, appropriatemessages are sent to distribution lists appropriate to the type of eventand the location 537, 552. Messages may be sent as text messages, faxes,emails or voice calls, depending upon the urgency and device-types ofthe users to whom the messages are being sent. The subscriber is calledor messaged when the appropriate action has been implemented 538, 553.Logic also provides that if the location is not precisely determined,police or responders are dispatched to the best last known location 541,544, 555. Appropriate notifications are sent 542, 546, and a subscriberis notified of the action being taken 543, 557.

FIG. 19 shows the integration of many users and services into theactions coordinated by administrative hub 510. For a client orsubscriber to services provided by administrative hub 510, communicationis by web enabled device 527 or cell phone 523. Administrative users fora client define the authorized users, enroll devices and identify therules and reporting protocols. In a real estate-centric application,survey information will be added to, geo coding database, builders willadd sensors to new buildings, real estate agents and contractors will beable to activate and deactivate alarm devices to suit their needs, andthe administrative hub will maintain appropriate databases with a fullyauditable record of events and produce appropriate billing informationfor clients.

FIG. 20 shows a process for adding or removing sensors from a building,with a particular focus on new home building. First, builder will placea sensor at a home 560 and depress the 5 button on builder's cell phone561, that cell phone being a device enrolled with the administrative hubof the invention. The administrative hub receives the signal of the 5button being depressed and location information is computed eitherautonomously by the cell phone or by a location aggregator or theadministrative hub from ephemeral data. The administrative hub firstdetermines whether the location already has sensors installed 563 andallows the builder to elect 564 whether to disable existing sensors atthe location 565. If the builder is not at a geolocation that isidentified as a home site 570, then an option is provided to exit 571 orto proceed to establish a location 572 and enter a identifying number573 for the home site. If the builder is authorized to place sensors atthe site 575, then the builder will need to provide the serial numbersof the sensors associated with the location 577, and the sensors will beenabled 578. If the builder is not in an area where he is authorized toenable sensors, he will be so notified 576.

FIG. 21 demonstrates steps by which a real estate arriving at an alarmedproperty to show the property to a prospective purchaser, or a tradesmanarriving to perform work at an alarmed property, may disarm the alarmwhile necessary to work and then the alarm be reactivated upon departureof the real estate agent or tradesman. For instance, the agent mayposition themselves at the building where the alarm is to be disarmed,and the 3 button on the agent's cell phone is depressed. The phonetransmits the disarm function together with data upon which the locationaggregator or administrative hub may determine the location of the phone601. If the administrative hub determines that the geolocation is not ata alarm protected building 602, a notification is sent to that effect603, and it is requested that the identifying number of the building beentered 604. If the geolocation coordinates are at a protected building,the administrative hub determines whether the requester has access todisarm 610, and failing appropriate authority, a notification is sent611, and an auditable history is created for future reporting 612. Ifthe agent has authority to disarm the alarm sensor, then the building isdisarmed and an appropriate history record created. The administrativehub then signals the requesting phone to increase the frequency oftransmission of data for location determination 621 so that theadministrative hub may determine when the agent has left the home inorder to rearm the alarm system. After the building is disarmed 620,text message is sent verifying that the alarm was disarmed 622, and themessage recorded for future reporting 623.

With the frequent reporting of location information 621, theadministrative hub actively monitors the agent's location 624. So longas the agent is still at the location of the disarmed home 625, thesystem takes no action 626. However, once the agent is no longer at thatlocation, the administrative hub rearms the sensors at the building 627.Also at this time, the agent's phone is reset to original intervals forlocation reporting 626 and records are created of the time at whichsensors were rearmed. If the agent or tradesperson remains in thebuilding beyond a predetermined period of time, such as one or twohours, the administrative hub may request confirmation that the alarmsbe maintained in their disarmed status and failing confirmation of theneed to maintain disarmed status, the alarms would then be reactivated.

Alternatively, the agent may depress another phone button such as 7 atthe end of visit to an alarmed property, to create a signal back to theadministrative hub to reactivate the home alarm system. Communicationbetween the administrative hub and a home alarm system is typically overa POTS connection, however, an appropriately configured home system maybe communicated with by wireless communications or a fixed line IPconnection.

While the invention has been explained with respect to particularembodiments, numerous other location aware reporting applications exist,such as reporting to judges or judicial personnel if they are inproximity to monitored offenders, or if monitored offenders are inproximity to their residence, or reporting to parents proximity toresidences or physical locations of monitored or registered sexoffenders.

All publications, patents, and patent documents are incorporated byreference herein as though individually incorporated by reference.Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed in detail herein, it will be understood that varioussubstitutions and modifications may be made to the disclosed embodimentdescribed herein without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent invention as recited in the appended claims.

1. In connection with a monitoring system for monitoring a plurality of wireless communication and location data collecting devices associated with system users for alarm signals via an administrative hub has a location database and a database associating users of the system with a wireless communication and location data collecting device, a method of providing assistance to a user comprising the steps of: (a) the administrative hub monitoring the location of a plurality of responders carrying wireless communication and location devices; (b) a user transmitting a signal using the wireless communication and location device to the administrative hub indicating an alarm; (c) the administrative hub receiving the alarm signal and location data from the wireless communication and location device and determining the location of the user; (d) determining an optimum responder from the plurality of responders and dispatching the optimum responder the location of the user.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the administrative hub communicates the location of the plurality of responders and the user location and alarm signal to a security service.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of responders is selected from the group of off duty police, private security personnel, on-duty police, and paramedic personnel.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the administrative hub analyzes the location history of the user in determining an address for dispatching the optimum responder.
 5. A monitoring system for directing an optimum responder selected from a group of responders to a signal from a system user comprising: (a) a plurality of responders carrying wireless communication and location devices; (b) a plurality of users carrying wireless communication and location devices; (c) an administrative hub having a location database, a database associating users of the system with a wireless communication and location data collecting device, and a database associating responders with a wireless communication and location device; and (d) a dispatcher; wherein the administrative hub is operative to monitor the locations of the plurality of responders, and to receive alarm signals and location information from users and to provide this data to the dispatcher.
 6. The monitoring system of claim 5 wherein the administrative hub is at a remote location from the dispatcher.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the wireless communication and location device is a GPS enabled cellular telephone. 